Bruce Wasserstein did not have to look far for talent when he shook up the management of Lazardâs asset management business four years ago.

Ashish Bhutani, who he made chief executive of the business, had joined Lazard the previous year as head of new products and strategic planning, and had first worked for Wasserstein in 1989 when he was recruited from Salomon Brothers for Wasserstein Perella’s high-yield debt team.

Since he took charge of asset management, Lazard’s business has grown rapidly, from about $80bn (€52bn) in assets under management to more than $130bn.

Revenues have more than doubled under his tenure from $350m in the full year before he took charge to $725m in 2007, with the business shifting from emphasis on the US to a more international focus.

Growth in revenues has been such that it is not improbable that asset management may overtake Lazard’s financial advisory business to become the company’s top money earner.

Employees have also increased from fewer than 600 staff at the end of 2003 to more than 750 at the end of last year, including 48 managing directors, up from 22 four years ago.

Lazard has made a great play of its research-driven investment approach and has increased the number of analysts it employs by 50% since 2005 to about 90 at the end of 2007.